Good UPS to get?

[BLindsay]

Currently i have

http://www.staples.com/office/suppli...s_10051_SEARCH

and i was thinking of either getting

http://www.staples.com/office/suppli...s_10051_SEARCH

or

http://www.staples.com/office/suppli...H#ReviewHeader

i like my Cyber power UPS but i was wondering if the APC one was better? I know they arent big upgrades but i only have to pay the difference of 30 bucks or whatever

It seems UPS's over the 1000w mark are very expensive?

[DIY_HD]

You should consider how much power your system draws before you decide. While you will likely never have all of your equipment on at any given time, you should at minimum have enough to handle the TV, AVR, BD player and any other equipment you typically have on. Watts = Volts x Amps. If your device has the power draw listed in Amps, multiply by 120 volts. Add up all your watts and then choose a unit that can handle these devices for about 10 minutes. Any longer than that and you would be shutting down everything anyway. I would figure an extra 20-25% reserve to allow for reduced capacity as the batteries age. I have two APCs (one on my Internet router/modem, and one on this computer). I had a Tripplite before and that was good too. I have my eye on the APC Smart-UPS 2200VA (1980w). I have no experience with Cyber Power.

Yes, they are expensive, but so is the rest of your equipment. We never think twice about investing thousands into A/V equipment, but complain that it costs $500-700 for a decent UPS. Yes, that's a lot of BDs. I feel the same way. I'm trying to save up for the right UPS and not just get a cheap one, just to salve my conscience. Happy shopping.

[Hammie]

I have the Tripp-Lite HT1000UPS. It handles the load of my system just fine. It keeps it on so I can turn everything off correctly. I've had two power outages in the last month and both times it worked seamlessly.

[solarrdadd]

I would recommend that you get a line conditioner for your equipment. One that does AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) most of your equpment won't know the difference if it lost power because you turned off the power button, turned it off with the remote or just loss power. I would however recommend a small UPS if you have a Front projector or a RPTV that needs to have the fan run for say 30seconds to 1 minute for a forced cool down to prevent condensation and heat damage to the lamp. If you have these types of components, then a small UPS for just them is needed. For everything else, a line conditioner is perfect. It will ride you through low voltage conditions (sags or brown-outs) as well as highs (surges or spikes) and you won't have the battery replacement issues either. I have both a UPS and a Line Conditioner for my equipment. I do have a RPTV and need the ups for that. My equipment is balanced between the UPS and the Line Conditioner. best of luck to you. Also, you should make sure you have a properly grounded 3 prong outlet that you are plugging all of that stuff into. If you really want to do it right, and if your able to have a dedicated 20a 120v circuit installed so that other devices running in your house don't bother with that circuit. Many of us find out that the toaster is on the same circuit as our A/V stuff and that's not good! Best of luck to you!

[BLindsay]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

I would recommend that you get a line conditioner for your equipment. One that does AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) most of your equpment won't know the difference if it lost power because you turned off the power button, turned it off with the remote or just loss power. I would however recommend a small UPS if you have a Front projector or a RPTV that needs to have the fan run for say 30seconds to 1 minute for a forced cool down to prevent condensation and heat damage to the lamp. If you have these types of components, then a small UPS for just them is needed. For everything else, a line conditioner is perfect. It will ride you through low voltage conditions (sags or brown-outs) as well as highs (surges or spikes) and you won't have the battery replacement issues either. I have both a UPS and a Line Conditioner for my equipment. I do have a RPTV and need the ups for that. My equipment is balanced between the UPS and the Line Conditioner. best of luck to you. Also, you should make sure you have a properly grounded 3 prong outlet that you are plugging all of that stuff into. If you really want to do it right, and if your able to have a dedicated 20a 120v circuit installed so that other devices running in your house don't bother with that circuit. Many of us find out that the toaster is on the same circuit as our A/V stuff and that's not good! Best of luck to you!

the room my A/V euipment has its own breaker already. And i use an UPS mostly for my computer so i have time to shut it down properly